The Clan Head and the Elder

While he was still examining his Sharingan, two members of the Uchiha Clan knocked on his door.

"Who's coming to see me at this hour?" Tianqi opened the door and found two Uchiha ninjas standing there.

When Tianqi opened the door, the two Uchiha ninjas looked him over and spoke.

"Uchiha Tianqi, the Clan Head wants to see you. Please come with us," said one of the young ninjas, who looked to be in his twenties.

"No problem. Let's go." Tianqi nodded and followed them. He wanted to see what the current Clan Head was after.

"Tianqi, I heard the Second Hokage lifted the restrictions on you. You've awakened the Sharingan, too—is that true?"

In the Military Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Qingyang, its commander, examined him closely.

"Clan Head, you called me here in the middle of the night. Surely you didn't summon me just to ask about that?" Tianqi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course not. Tianqi, you're a member of my Uchiha Clan, and you were once its Young Clan Head. As Clan Head, it's only natural that I care about my people."

Hearing this, Tianqi scoffed inwardly. Now you say that? Where were you all those years? You were just afraid of Tobirama Senju. Now that you've heard my restrictions were lifted, you want to win me over. Dream on. He kept those thoughts to himself and quietly activated his Sharingan.

"Two Tomoe Sharingan?" Uchiha Qingyang drew in a sharp breath as he looked into Tianqi's eyes, stunned. At ten years old, without anyone to teach him, he already had the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Hadn't he only had the Single Tomoe Sharingan before? It had only been a few days, and it had evolved again.

Although his strength was only at the Genin level, no one had taught him. Now that the restrictions had been lifted, his strength would surely improve by leaps and bounds. As expected of Madara's son—his talent was every bit as great as Madara's.

The Second Hokage was growing more and more hostile toward the Uchiha. Although Kagami had become the Second Hokage's student, that wasn't nearly enough. If they could use Tianqi to win over Madara's die-hard followers, and add Tianqi's strength to the equation, they would surely gain enough influence in Konoha to make their voices heard.

"Tianqi, I know you resent the clan. You've truly suffered all these years. You lost your position as Young Clan Head, and you've been struggling to get by. But when it came to the Second Hokage, the clan really had no choice."

"Ever since your father defected, the clan hasn't had a single fighter who could match the Second Hokage. We had no choice but to compromise." Uchiha Qingyang launched straight into an appeal to Tianqi's feelings.

"Oh? Clan Head, what exactly are you trying to say?" Tianqi knew Uchiha Qingyang wanted to win him over, but he pretended not to understand.

"Tianqi, what I mean is that since the Second Hokage has lifted your restrictions, I hope you'll return to the Uchiha and take your place among us. We're fellow clan members. No matter how badly we've treated you, we're still better than outsiders, aren't we?"

"From now on, if there's anything you don't understand, you can come to me. Whatever ninjutsu you want to learn, I can teach you. And, of course, if you prove yourself strong enough, we can consider restoring your position as Young Clan Head."

As he listened to Uchiha Qingyang make him all those promises, Tianqi simply nodded in silence, then walked out.

"Restore my position as Young Clan Head? Uchiha Qingyang, do you really think I'm a child? Trying to tempt me with empty promises. You old fox—you picked the wrong person." After leaving, Tianqi muttered under his breath, then headed home.

"You've been following me for so long. Aren't you tired?"

After leaving the Military Police Force headquarters, Tianqi sensed someone watching him from behind. It felt just like the Anbu's surveillance from before.

Whoosh!

As soon as Tianqi spoke, a masked ninja appeared in front of him.

"Uchiha Tianqi, the Elder wants to see you. Come with me."

At the masked ninja's words, Tianqi narrowed his eyes. Today was certainly turning out to be interesting. Tobirama Senju had lifted his restrictions, and now the Clan Head had summoned him, followed by the Militant Faction's Elder. Interesting. Very interesting.

"If the Elder wants to see me, then let's go," Tianqi said to the masked ninja.

The masked ninja was taken aback by how readily Tianqi agreed. He had expected it to take some time, but Tianqi had agreed without hesitation. He said nothing more, simply turning and setting off. Tianqi followed.

Soon, the masked ninja led him to the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan's territory. The edge of the clan's lands was quite close to where Tianqi lived.

A few minutes later, Tianqi followed the masked ninja into a courtyard. When they pushed open the door and went inside, they saw an old man sitting quietly in the middle of the courtyard.

"Elder, I've brought him."

"Mm. I know. You may go."

Once the ninja had left, the Elder spoke. "You must be Uchiha Tianqi. Come and sit."

"Mm." Tianqi said nothing more and sat down across from the Elder.

"You really are a lot like your father." Looking at Tianqi, the Elder seemed to be transported back to the days when Madara was still there. Tianqi had the same defiant air and the same long hair.

Tianqi rarely bothered to fix his hair; he simply brushed it back. He already looked like Madara, and styling his hair that way made the resemblance even stronger. It was one reason Tobirama disliked him even more.

"Elder, it's late. If there's something you want to discuss, just say it. I have things to do tomorrow," Tianqi said calmly. It really was late, and he had to take on a mission tomorrow. If this dragged on, he wouldn't get any sleep tonight.

Tianqi spoke so bluntly because the Elder was one of his father's loyal followers. If it had been Uchiha Qingyang, Tianqi wouldn't have dared to talk like that. He was only a Genin, and his strength was still lacking. For now, it was better to keep a low profile.

Hearing Tianqi speak that way, the Elder didn't take offense. Facing Tianqi was just like facing Madara, and he liked that kind of straightforwardness. He stood up and knelt before Tianqi.

"Young Clan Head, because of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, I haven't been able to look after you properly all these years. I let you suffer for nothing, and I'm sorry. I've betrayed Lord Madara's trust in me."

"Elder, what are you doing?" Tianqi hurried to help him up.

There was no denying that the Elder's sincerity far surpassed Uchiha Qingyang's. He acknowledged Tianqi as the Young Clan Head and even knelt before him. He was clearly sincere. It really was a case of comparison making all the difference.

"Young Clan Head, please come with me." The Elder soon led Tianqi to an underground chamber, which was packed with ninjutsu scrolls and money.

"Th-this is...?" Tianqi stared at the scrolls and money, looking at the Elder in confusion.

"Now that Senju Tobirama has lifted the restrictions on you, our Militant Faction will do everything we can to train you. You can learn any ninjutsu you want. Once you're strong enough, all of us—more than a hundred people—will follow your lead."

"If you tell us to leave Konoha then, we'll follow you without hesitation."

Tianqi broke into a cold sweat at that and quickly stopped the Elder before he could go on.

"Elder, you can't say things like that carelessly. As long as Konoha hasn't wronged us, we can't entertain such thoughts. Besides, it's far too early to talk about this. Without strength, it's all empty talk."

"And don't call me Young Clan Head anymore. That's all in the past."

The Elder listened to Tianqi and regarded him with curiosity. Tianqi sounded nothing like a ten-year-old child. The Elder had indeed been testing him when he said those things.

A normal ten-year-old would have gotten carried away the moment he heard that. He hadn't expected Tianqi to stay so calm—and to have such a clear head.